Newspaper Page Text
December 20, 1211] THE
Editorial 1
Our office has received, in the same week, copies,
printed in the institutions' publications, of
two Baccalaureate sermons nf Rnppini nnwa*
interest, one delivered in the Second Presbyterian
Churoh, Charleston, to the Military College
of South Carolina, by Dr. T. M. Hunter, of
B Baton Rouge, La., and the other in the University
of Georgia Chapel, in Athens, by Dr. W.
McF. Alexander. Both of them dwell upon the
necessity of faith as fundamental to the highest
manhood. They prove their point, both of them,
by different but equally strong lines of thought.
A Spanish princess, the Infanta Eulalia, has
written a book. The uncle of the princess.
King Alfonso, has directed her to suspend
its publication until he shall have taken cognizance
of its contents <>rd have given ihe royal
approval. Whereupon the Infanta Eulalia
Dlainlv tolls hor linolo tVint cVio Kido V>5m
that his act is "a thing that could only happen
in Spain," and that it is "worthy of the Inquisition."
They ought to know about such
things over there. "When a Spanish princess
denounces the Inquisition it indicates that truth
is beginning to pervail.
"Never sit down and confess yourself beaten."
So advises a religious paper. It depends! If
you have been contending for that which is
wrong, and the wrong has been shown, why, sit
down, as promptly as possible and thereby play
the man. Mere persistence is not praiseworthy.
To be deserving of approval the persi stance must
be in a good thing, in the right thing. Otherwise
the longer one persists the further astray
one goes. There is nothing admirable in persistence
of itself. It takes manhood to acknowledge
oneself wrong. Manhood is not needful to mere
persistence or manifested by it.
If any of the brethren have money which they
do not care for at all and will be perfectly willing
to throw away, they can hardly find an easier
way to do the latter than to give it to a fellow
who is parading around through the Southwest
asking for aid to get on to the next place, where
he looks for a remittance from his "Mission
Board." There are scores of these fellows,
claiming to be from Persia, Armenia, Babylon,
Syria, and other lands in Western Asia, asking
for aid to "get back to their work," "orphanages,"
schools,^' and the like. It will be
11 l: J _II m.i i- _ # x J : ? ?
wen iu uiu mi iiiem seen me iroiu aoor as quiCKly
as possible.
Perhaps the most brutal piece of crime ever
committed in this country, the ruthless murder
of twenty-one men, employes of the Los Angeles
Times, has been confessed by the parties
guilty of it. The criminals had unlimited funds
at their disposal for their defence. Organized
labor had contributed almost fabulous amounts.
The rushing of the labor unions to the defense
of these men, their prejudgment of the case,
in the denunciation of the process of law involved,
and their huge effort to create public
sympathy for the men on trial, were errors
which they will not be likely to repeat very
soon. The leader of organized labor, Mr. Gompers,
admits that they were duped. The lesson,
however, ougnt to he a wnoiesome ^ne.
"Sermons in Braid Scots" is the title of a new
volume issued from a publishing house in Toronto.
It is doubtless intended for the use of
the great number of stalwart Scotchmen and
their families who have left their loved highlands
to find opportunity and fortune in the
''i
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE 80
\otes and
western world. Many of our readers are not far
removed by birth and tradition from the braes
and brooks, the song and story of the auld
countrie. They may have sometimp lipnrrt a
dialect of which the following taken from the
introduction to this volume of sermons by D.
Gibb Mitchell, will remind them: "I gaithered
my flock aboot me an' spak to them i' the tongue
o' their faithers. It was the gude auld Doric;
it was their ain couthrie words. It was sib
to their fancy, an' gacd far ben into their herts.
Nane were huff't at liearin' their ain tongue
preached i'their ain kirk."
For three quarters of a century literature has
has been scattered broadcast describing the
harshness of Southern slave holders in the
treatment of their slaves. To those familiar
with Southern life, such representations bore
falsehood on their face. Every motive of selfinterest,
to say nothing of dative kindness and
personal friendship, prompted to generous treatment.
Our eye has just fallen on a paragraph
from George "W. Bagby's tribute to Southern
women in their treatment of and tender minis4l.?
-1 rr"
i\> inrir si?v?*>?. i nis piernre is not
fanciful nor the portrayal of rare scenes, hnt is
faithful to the realities that were, is representative
of the relations that existed between mistress
and servant: "Into how many negro
cahins had she not prone, when the night was far
spent and the lamp of life flickered low in the
hreast of the dying slave! TTow often she ministered
to him with her own hands! Nay,
had she not knelt hv his lowly bed and ponred
ont her heart to God as his sonl winged its
flight and closed his glazed and staring eyes as
the day was dawning? Yet the morning meal
found her at her accnstomed seat, tranquil and
helpful, and no one hut her husband the wiser
for her night's ministrations."
We sometimes fear that the churches have
become infected with the world's mania for
money-getting. The Church needs money and
can use it to better advantage than can any
other institution on earth. Money consecrated
to the support and spread of the Gospel will
yield fruit through all the ages to come. But
there is something more valuable than money
and more precious to our Lord than silver or
gold. That which he values is immortal souls.
We must agree that his valuation is just. Our
own souls and those of our friends and neighbors
are among the number. Are our church leaders
concerned most about revenues or about immortal
souls. On this point The Lutheran says:
"The Saviour asks for us not for ours. It is
good to have pride if it is of the right kind. A
pride in our church seeks glory for the church.
Does that mean an overflowing treasury? It
means an overflowing congregation, an ardent
interest in the Lord's house and in his service.
Gifts are very good, but not without the givers.
The mint has great riches, but it is not worth
as much as the poor old servant that sweeps the
floor. What the Lord calls is people. If we cannot
do great things with worldly gifts, let us be
glad to do the greatest things with personal devotion.
There are some who hesitate to identify
themselves with God's people because they feel
that they are enable to do a liberal share with
means. Witholding means when we can help is
unworthy; but witholding ourselves because of
money-pride is far worse. Is the man who is
moved on by pride because he can do much any
worse than the one who is kept back by shame
because he can not do much!'*
i 0 X H (1209) 9
Comments
THE GLADNESS OF CHRISTMAS.
The key to the meaning of Christmas is found
in the angels' message to the shepherds, "Behold,
I bring you good tiding of great joy which
shall be to all people; for unto von is hum
day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord." The words spoken by prophets
had been but vaguely understood as to time,
circumstances and nature of the advent. Now
it is declared by heavenly messengers as a
reality and the shepherds might come to the
very spot and pay homage to the Hope of Israel.
Prom that day to this the world has had a new
and more gladdening vision of him of whom
Moses and the prophets did write.
We may not say that the advent is the highest
expression of God's love. The cross is
the supreme revelation of the heart of God,
but the advent began that triumphant mediation
which culminated in the cross, was verified
in the resurrection of our Lord and is applied
in his exaltation. His redemptive work is a
unit. But the joy of it all was heralded at his
birth. His coming was the pledge of his final
and supreme triumph, and because of it the time
was at hand for heaven and earth to mingle
their exultation and unite their voices of praise.
The prophet had said, "Unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given." The hope had
been cherished by the nassin? ?
t ??0 ^viiciauuus.
Parents had repeated the precious words to their
children, scribes and doctors had expounded
them to the people, and now the fulness of time
had come, God had sent forth his Son and the
tidings were to be heralded abroad. There
ifc born "in the city of David a Saviour which
is Christ the Lord." Ilowever the words may
have been understood, they contained the essence,
the very soul of the gospel. "The city
of David" refers back to prophecy. They declare
the kingly office of our Lord, and in what
contrast with his lowly birth! The King of
kings wa3 to live a peasant life, meek and lowly
of heart, that he might exalt us!
Hfi was nnrl io "" 0?: 1 ' *
? ?v. jo a ouviuur wnicn is Uhrist
the Lord." How overmastering the fact! Can
we ignore it? Only through the stupidity of
a sin-blinded mind. If we perceive it in all
its magnitude, in its bearing upon life, in its
determination of our fate, in its promise of bliss
or warning of judgments, we must welcome it
and embrace it and our hearts must leap for joy.
The Babe of Bethlehem who is the Son of the
Eternal Father, Christ the Lord is too tnmsporting
a truth to lie dormant in enlightened minds.
He is the Father's gift, the best of all gifts to
us?a Saviour. In him are combined Creator,
Lawgiver, Redeemer. Judge, Prophet. Priest and
King?the Gift of gifts. "And they shall call
VliQ nama Trnmnn.."! " *** ~ J ?' ' 1
. ...uinuucl UOU Willi US.
The Christmas season belongs especially to
children. It is a time for rejoicing in the Rnbe
of Bethlehem, the Child King. The thought
brings him near to them as a sympathetic friend.
This same Jesus in his ministry took little children
in his arms and blessed them. Think of it;
the angels sang praises to announce the coming,
of a child. Tell the story to the children and
let their hearts rejoice. It comes to them with
a freshness and vividness and beauty suited to
their childhood. The glad tidings may win their
hearts and make them his forevermore. Mothers.
knowing thp pVin rm r\t J?"
...w ... v. ...nuitj, t-nu Uwtfll
with magnetic rnptnre on the theme of the angel
choir, their song, its exultant praise and its message;
the wise men from the "Fast and their
offerings, the shepherds and their adoration and
all the while the children will listen as if spellbound
with the charm of the wondrons story.